payment page
The Poet X is a contemporary, coming-of-age, young-adult novel-in-verse by Elizabeth Acevedo. The protagonist, fifteen-year-old Xiomara Batista struggles to find her voice and to develop her own identity in spite of her mother’s expectations for her life. Throughout the novel, Xiomara keeps a journal of her poetry, which is comprised in part of the thoughts, feelings, and questions Xiomara cannot ask her mother. Xiomara’s expression through poetry and the underlying tension between the desire to discover herself and to appease her mother represent two of the novel’s overarching themes related to identity and expression.
Throughout the novel, Xiomara struggles with body image, sexuality, first love, religion, and family dynamics, but her efforts to advocate for herself are limited due to the repressive and sometimes abusive control her mother exerts over her. The tension between Xiomara and her mother is a primary source of conflict throughout the novel. At the point the novel begins, Xiomara has been nothing but an obedient daughter, but two opposing and inciting events propel Xiomara into having to make life-altering choices.
The first event is Xiomara’s forced enrollment in confirmation class at the Catholic church she attends at her mother’s insistence. The second event is Xiomara beginning her sophomore year in a new high school without the company of her twin brother, Xavier (Twin). It is at school where she meets Aman who will become her first boyfriend and Ms. Galiano who introduces her to slam poetry, encourages her writing, and pleads with her to join the poetry club, which Xiomara would like to do. Because the poetry club conflicts with the confirmation classes her Mami insists she take, Xiomara is torn between pleasing her mother and choosing what her heart desires.
The tension between Xiomara’s internal questions and Mami’s expectation of her daughter’s absolute acceptance of her Catholic faith propels the novel’s conflicts. Xiomara begins confirmation class but is uneasy about the patriarchal and misogynistic aspects she sees within the church. She can’t understand how Biblical figures like Eve, Delilah, and Lot’s wife must bear the blame for things that men led those women into, and she questions why Catholicism hails Mary, a pregnant teen, as the main role model for young girls striving for purity.
Fear, sin, blame, and punishment represent the bulk of Catholicism as Xiomara sees it, yet she feels powerless to choose a different path. When Father Sean observes that followers should embrace the faith of their own volition, Xiomara fixates on the word “volition” and begins to question and then defy the teachings of the church and of her mother. Choosing not to take communion, asking questions during confirmation class, and then skipping class to attend poetry club put Xiomara in conflict with her mother but allow Xiomara to progress as a dynamic character seeking to develop her own beliefs. Ultimately, when Father Sean tells Mami that Xiomara should not be forced to go through with confirmation class, it demonstrates that Xiomara is her own person, unwilling to conform to her mother’s view of what kind of internal and external life she should have.
As she begins a new year of high school, Xiomara wants to be invisible, which is physically impossible for Xiomara. Xiomara’s height and curvy body make her a target for sexual harassment by boys and men. The attention is scary for Xiomara even as it is intriguing and exciting, showing her discomfort with being objectified while still being aroused by the attention she evokes. The inner turmoil of her growing sexuality is complicated by the fact that her mother has instructed her to believe sexual feelings and expressions are sinful and holds up the Virgin Mary as her role model with anything less constituting the behavior of a cuero, or whore.
When Xiomara meets Aman, she does not ignore the stirrings of attraction and desire but defies Mam’s warnings about men by secretly meeting with Aman. Even though these dates are relatively innocent and never go far beyond holding hands and kissing, Xiomara is aware that she, like Eve, is tasting forbidden fruit. Mami learns of Xiomara’s discretions when she sees Xiomara and Aman kissing on the train. Xiomara is punished severely for the “sin” of desiring a boy. The following day at school, a boy harasses Xiomara, and she waits for Aman to rush to her defense. When he does not, she scorns him and cuts off contact. The incident reaffirms her conviction that she is the only one who will defend her. While this event shows that Xiomara believes herself worth defending, it also shows her lingering insecurity as she still does not think she is worthy of being defended by others. Equally, Xiomara’s rigidity in the situation signifies Mami’s influence on her personality and demonstrates that Xiomara, like her mother, can also fail to see the complexities in others.
The climax of the novel occurs with the intersection of the two sources of Xiomara’s conflict: her mother’s attempts to control her and Xiomara’s desire for independence. When Mami finds and reads Xiomara’s notebook of poetry, she realizes that her daughter has her own metaphorical Bible and her own faith. The poetry reveals the things Xiomara believes not only about herself but also about her parents, her brother, and the church. Through her writing, Xiomara questions what she’s been taught and develops an understanding of the world that is in contrast with Mami and the church. By burning the notebook, Mami attempts to exorcise Xiomara of her individuality, thinking she can use external force to change her daughter’s internal personhood. As the book burns and Mami prays aloud, however, Xiomara recites her poetry, declaring to Mami that she’ll have to burn her to change her. This pivotal moment illuminates the understanding Xiomara has reached that she has control over her identity.
Xiomara’s transformative moment following the climax where her mother burns her notebook and Xiomara runs away is in her decision to both accept and to seek help from others. At school, when Ms. Galiano checks on Xiomara’s welfare, Xiomara breaks down and reveals all of the secrets she has hidden in her notebook. With her notebook and former self, the self she tried to keep hidden from Mami, effectively destroyed and exposed, Xiomara releases all of her burdens.
On the way home from school, the transformed Xiomara knows what she must do. She beseeches Father Sean for help, and he accompanies her home. Xiomara sees the value of his objectivity, kindness, and desire to be helpful even though she does not subscribe to his theological beliefs. Xiomara recognizes the value in the support and perspective of others even if they do not agree on all matters.
The novel’s denouement progresses quickly after Xiomara’s and Mami’s reconciliation facilitated by Father Sean. Xiomara and her family starts going to therapy, and for the first time in the novel, Papi’s both speaks up and listens to the family talk about how his silence hurt them. Xiomara continues openly pursuing her poetry and her new friendships. The novel concludes at the big poetry slam that Xiomara performs at. The poetry slam is not only attended by Twin, Caridad, Ms. Galiano, Aman, Father Sean, and her friends from poetry club, but also by Mami and Papi. After the successful event, Xiomara, her family, her friends, and Aman gather at Xiomara’s family home for an eclectic meal of beans and rice and pizza. Xiomara notes it’s a strange mix but she doesn’t complain. For the first time, both of Xiomara’s worlds come together and readers are left with a sense that even if Xiomara and her mother never see eye-to-eye, they, like the broken baby bracelet that was repaired, are willing to find ways to come together.
